And Here You Are
by WishingDayDreams
Summary: Her words trailed off as her eyes landed on a certain paladin. A paladin who looked back at her with equally wide, familiar eyes. A large clatter was heard as everything in her arms dropped to the ground. "L-Lance?" The paladins are on their way home after the battle with Lotor when they receive a distress signal. Rewriting of everything after season 6. Klance OCxOC
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! This is my first story on here and I'm always looking to improve my writing, so any constructive criticism is much appreciated. If you guys ever have any ideas or comments please tell me, I'm always looking for new inspiration. I hope you guys enjoy the story.**

A light late summer's breeze swept across the small, empty beach. The setting sun cast an orange tint on the sand, the waves washing away the footprints made by the young Cuban boy hurrying down the beach.

He slowed down as he reached the far end of the beach, near where the rocks started jutting out of the golden sands. After climbing over a fairly large rock, he looked down and spotted his target. Just a ways from the boy was a small alcove that faced the horizon. And sitting inside the alcove was a young girl, only a few years younger than the boy looking for her.

The boy climbed down the large rock that hid their secret hiding area from the rest of the beach. He jumped down the last couple feet and made his way to sit next to the girl.

After a few moments of her not making any comment to his arrival the boy spoke up in a soft voice, "You really should tell people before you disappear like that again. Your mom was really worried after she realized you weren't over at our place."

The girl said nothing in response, only burying her face further into her knees and wrapping her arms tighter around her legs. There were only sniffles coming from her now, but the boy could already tell she had been crying a lot harder earlier.

He sighed and scooted closer to the girl in order to wrap an arm around her small body. "Hey, everything's gonna be alright. You'll be fine. You're gonna be your super smart self and pass all those tests with flying colors and get into a super awesome college and become the best doctor in the history of forever."

The girls head whipped up to reveal bloodshot eyes and a runny nose. And most surprising to the boy, an angry glare that was directed at him. "That's not why I'm upset, you idiot. Do you really think I'm shallow enough to run away from my family because I'm worried about my test results?" The boy used his arm that was previously wrapped around the girl to ruffle her hair.

"Ok, now that you're finally talking to me, do you want to tell me the real reason you came all the way out here when you should be at home either packing or studying for those entrance exams coming up?" Her glare turned into a sad frown as she turned back to stare out at the sunset.

"It's just… Ugh, I don't know. It just feels like everything is changing all of the sudden. Like, it feels like just yesterday the hardest decision we had to make was what movie we wanted to watch for movie night. And now…" she trailed off.

"And now you're going off to the Garrison to be a freaking fighter pilot! And out of nowhere my mom decides to break the news that we're moving back up north. So now I have to leave my friends behind, just after starting high school nonetheless. Not to mention the fact that I might not even have the chance to finish high school! I knew that my mom was a strict tiger mom, but I didn't think that she would make me jump straight to college. I understand she's trying to look out for my future and only wishes the best for me, but I still want to enjoy my childhood, ya know?"

She sighed as she finished her rant and leaned so her head rested on her friend's shoulder. "It just feels like we're growing up too fast. Do you ever feel like that Lance?"

Lance chuckled and smirked down at her, "With your height? Don't worry you're still a long time away from becoming an adult with how slow you're growing."

The girl sat up and turned to slap Lance on the arm. "I'm trying to have a sentimental moment with you before we both leave and you're making fun of my height?! Ugh, I don't know why I even try with you anymore."

She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest as Lance laughed at her. He let out his last laugh as he crossed his legs and stared into the setting sun. It was almost dark now with only a sliver of the orange sun left on the horizon.

"Ya know, if I'm being totally honest though, I know how you feel. When I first got accepted into the Garrison to start training, at first I could only think about how cool it was to be accepted in to the freakin' Garrison. But after coming home on that first break, I realized I couldn't talk to my old friends the same way I used to. I couldn't spend as much time hanging out with them like I used to. And the time I spent at the Garrison only deepened the distance between us. Sometimes I wonder how my life would've been if I'd never went to the Garrison. Would I still have my old friends? My old life? Would I've been able to spend a bit more time being a kid and just enjoying life, rather than studying for simulation after simulation? Going to parties and movies instead of meetings and libraries."

"But the Garrison is your dream! You and I both know, even if you were given the choice you would still go to the Garrison in a heartbeat."

Lance smiled, "Exactly, and that's why you shouldn't let yourself be afraid of changes. My dream was to make it into the Garrison and become a fighter pilot and I'm making my way down that path. Your dream to become a doctor isn't going go anywhere if you're afraid of losing contact with your friends. And hey, if you're afraid of not being able to enjoy your youth, we still have the rest of the summer together don't we?"

The girl smiled softly and looked up at the now dark sky. It was a clear night and, as usual, the stars twinkled brightly with the moon providing any light that disappeared with the sunset.

"Yeah, we do."

Lance leaned back on his arms to look up at the stars with his friend. "One thing I do miss is this though. The desert may have stars, but nothing beats a night on the beach stargazing."

"I'm gonna miss this, too. I just wish I could see the stars up close, ya know? With me moving up to the city soon, there's almost no chance for me to see a clear sky like this for a while. City lights and pollution kinda ruin the mood."

"At least I don't have to worry about you kidnapping me in the middle of the night to go watch meteor showers with you. But hey, once I become a fighter pilot with my very own plane, I'll take you closer to the stars than you can ever dream of."

The girl snorted at his statement, "I don't think the Garrison would take too kindly on one of their pilots taking a plane for a joyride. Especially with an unauthorized childhood friend."

They both laughed and fell back onto the sand, gazing up at the starry night sky. "I might take you up on that offer, Sharpshooter. So you gotta promise me that you'll try your hardest to be the best fighter pilot ever, or I'll have to find someone else to sweep me away."

"Ha, like there would be anyone dumb enough to tolerate you that much."

"And yet, here you are. You must be the dumbest of them all if you stuck around for this long."

"You're right, but it was worth it."

They turned to face each other at the same time and their eyes met. Ocean blue eyes met honey brown ones. Lance broke eye contact as he pushed himself off the sand to get up. He brushed the sand off his shorts and offered a hand to the girl still sitting on the ground.

"Come on, its getting late and we haven't told anyone that I found you yet, so we'd better start heading back."

She took hold of his hand and he hoisted her up. She started to wipe the sand and dirt off her body.

"Ugh, one thing I won't miss is sand getting everywhere. I'm gonna be so happy the day I wake up and I don't have to dump sand out my shoes."

"Weren't you just complaining about how you didn't want to leave? So quick to try to get away, aren't cha?" Lance teased.

The girl started walking ahead and replied, "Of course, it was a miracle I've managed to put up with you as long as I have."

They laughed and continued down the beach for a little while before the girl turned around to face Lance. She had a sad smile and held up her hand with her thumb and pinky extended.

"Promise me you won't forget about me, Lance."

Lance smiled and looped his own pinky around hers and pulling their intertwined hands up towards his face to kiss his thumb. She did the same with her thumb.

"I wouldn't even dream of it, Nova."

**So…? What'd you think? This chapter is just the prologue, the story will begin next chapter. I wanted to give a little background on Lance and Nova's relationship, but don't worry! This is gonna be a Klance story. It might be a bit of a slowburn, but we'll get there eventually. Tell me what you think in the reviews. I'll try to get the next chapter out by next week.**

**Until next time, this is WishingDayDreams signing off.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Guess who's back with a new chapter? Technically the first chapter, but details don't matter right now. Hopefully I can keep up with a somewhat regular update schedule, but me being me, I'll probably procrastinate or get writer's block. Most likely both at the same time, but I'll do my best to keep chapters coming out consistently. Anywho, here's the first official chapter.**

"Lance!"

There was a loud crash as the red paladin yelped and promptly fell out of his bed. Still half asleep and confused, his head shot out of the pile of blankets that had fallen off the bed with him.

"What's going on? What's happening? Is there trouble? Is it the Galra?"

Keith rolled his eyes at his teammate's antics. He walked into Lance's makeshift bedroom inside the red lion. Ever since they had lost the Castle of Lions, all the paladins were making do with sleeping inside their lions. Coran and Romelle were staying inside the blue lion with Allura while Shiro and Krolia were in the black lion with Keith.

"The only trouble anyone is going to be in is you with Allura if you don't hurry up. We were supposed to meet up in the black lion for a meeting after breakfast, but you didn't show up to that either, so here we are."

Lance groaned as he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, some of his blanket slipping off his body to reveal his torso. His bare torso.

Keith immediently turned his head away from Lance and shut his eyes. "Please, for the love of Voltron, tell me you're not naked under that."

Lance stood up completely to reveal that underneath the blanket he was wearing a pair of blue lion printed boxers. "Wouldn't you just love that?" He said sarcastically as he grabbed his blanket and threw it back on his bed. "It got really hot last night and the red lion isn't really known for having the best air conditioning system."

Keith turned back at the other paladin and stared at the copious amount of blankets on his bed to avoid looking at him directly. "And it never occurred to you that, maybe, you could go to sleep without like 10 blankets on top of you?"

Turning to face him, Lance put a hand on his hip, "For your information, there are only 7 blankets. And did you seriously suggest that I go to bed without any blankets? What kind of monster goes to bed without any sort of cover?"

"Are we really arguing about blankets right now? Look, we need to get over to the black lion for this briefing and this conversation has been going nowhere," Keith said.

"Ok, fine. Just let me get ready and we'll head over to- "

"Oh no no no no. None of that. Last time you said that we waited half an hour for you. I thought Allura was gonna murder you if you didn't show up when you did."

As much as Keith appreciated how much time and effort Lance could put into the whole moisturizing and conditioning or whatever it is he does, because boy did it pay off, sometimes he feels that they had bigger responsibilities as defenders of the universe and that maybe that should be more of a priority than face masks.

"Ok, ok. I'll just hop in for a quick shower," Keith gave him a look, " A real quick one, I swear. And I'll put on some clothes and we can go. Sounds good?"

Keith looked at him, "Fine, but if you're not done in 10 minutes I'm heading over there first and you can deal with Allura's wrath all on your own."

"Deal. I'll be done in a tick." Lance grabbed a towel off of a hook on the wall and turned the corner into the bathroom. Keith heard the door slide shut behind him and the shower turning on.

Sighing, Keith looked around the room as he plopped down on the bed to wait for the Cuban boy. He noticed that other than the ridiculous amount of blankets and a complicated looking gaming system that Pidge probably hooked up, it seemed that Lance had not brought much when they evacuated the castle.

Although, looking at the wall that the bed was attached to, there were more than a few pictures that were hung up. Keith sat up to look at them more closely. There were some of Lance, Hunk, and Pidge dressed in Galra and druid uniforms? One was taken of all the paladins and the Arusians before the castle began its journey. There was one of the paladins on stage doing the Voltron show while he was off with the Blade. In another one was Lance posing next to Kaltenecker, still in full space mall disguise.

Keith chuckled to himself as he went through all the memories, even the ones he wasn't there for. His eyes wandered a bit further down the wall at the other pictures. There were a few where Lance had taken pictures of the other paladins when they had fallen asleep in the lounge, all of them with crudely drawn mustaches on them. However there was one that caught his eye. A picture of him and Lance, laughing and congratulating each other after a mission well done.

He didn't remember that picture being taken and from the looks of it, someone had probably taken the picture amiss all the excitement. Keith smiled at the pictures fondly. He had never really been the sentimental type, the type to keep pictures of every occasion and go back through them on a rainy day. No, he'd much rather use the rainy day training and leveling up on the simulators. But after looking at Lance's collection, he could see why someone would enjoy it.

Keith continued looking at the photos when his eyes landed on something. In between the wall and Lance's pillow was a folded up picture. "Oh, guess it fell down during a battle or something," Keith thought as he reached over to pick it up. Keith unfolded the picture with the intentions of putting it back up with the others when he paused.

In his hands was a picture of what Keith assumed to be Lance's family. Everyone from his grandparents to his niece and nephew were in there picture and they were all smiling brightly at the camera. Keith could see where Lance got his smile from.

"He must really miss his family," Keith thought as he gazed down at the picture. From the looks of the old photograph, it had been held many times. Lance must've really treasured it if it had stayed in tact the whole time they were in space.

With a soft smile, Keith moved to pin the picture back onto the wall alongside the others. However as he was searching for a pin to attach the said picture to the wall, he noticed something else.

There was another picture stuck behind the one of Lance's family.

Keith carefully peeled off the top picture to reveal another picture. In this picture, Lance seemed to be a bit older than he was in the family picture. It looked like it was taken possibly the year they found the blue lion.

Lance was standing in front of the main Garrison gate, wearing his cadet uniform and grinning widely. But what really caught Keith's attention was the girl he had on his back waving at the camera. She looked a few years younger, maybe around Pidge's age. She had dark hair that was pulled into a high ponytail and was wearing what Keith assumed to be a prep school uniform. And she was hugging Lance. Tightly.

Not to mention the swirly cursive on the bottom of the picture that read, "Shoot for the stars, Sharpshooter!" She even put a heart on the exclamation point.

Who is this? Did Lance actually have a girlfriend back on Earth? No no no, that can't be. If he did he wouldn't have flirted with Allura when we first got to the castle. But then again, he also flirts with almost anyone we meet. But Lance doesn't seem like the type to cheat on someone.

As Keith was going through his slight dilemma, Lance was finishing up his shower. The red paladin reached for the towel and dried his body off before wrapping it around his waist. He moved to start his morning face routine when he remembered that Keith was waiting for him outside.

"Dammit, that's right. We have to get to the meeting soon," Lance muttered to himself. Sighing he braced his hands on either sides of the sink in the small bathroom. His mind wandered back to the dream he was having before Keith came in.

Nova.

He hadn't really had time to think about what she would be up to now. Last he saw her was before school had started for her and she came to visit him at the Galaxy Garrison. She obviously wasn't allowed inside, but he got special permission to spend the weekend in town with her before she had to leave and classes started up again.

Lance smiled to himself. She was probably still in school around now, maybe doing some crazy science experiment that she was gonna get in trouble for later. Or maybe it was nighttime and she'd still be up pulling one of her infamous all nighters either studying or doing research.

Shaking his head, Lance pulled himself out of his thoughts.

"No time to be living in the past. Holy Quiznack! Has it been 10 minutes yet? Keith better had not actually left me."

With that Lance spun around looking for his clothes. That he did not bring in with him. Lance groaned and tightened the towel around his hips, slipping on his lion slippers and heading towards the door.

Keith was still arguing with himself when he heard the bathroom doors sliding open. He quickly folded the pictures back together and slipped them back under Lance's pillow. By the time he sat back up, Lance had just turned the corner.

"Hey, you ready to go yet? It's almost been 10 minutes and Allura's gonna get — where are your clothes?" Keith stared at Lance who was only wearing a towel and drying his hair with a smaller one.

"Well, if someone hadn't rushed me, I would've grabbed them before I showered. But I'll have you know that I skipped my whole morning routine for you. So if my beautiful face starts breaking out, it's all on you."

Keith rolled his eyes as Lance walked pass him towards the small closet. Lance grabbed his clothes and threw them on the bed. He reached for his boxers and moved to put them on.

"Lance! I'm still in the room!" Keith said turning around to face the door.

Lance glanced up as he was pulling up his jeans. "Meh, I don't really mind. You grow up with as many siblings as I did, privacy's not really a thing anymore."

He pulled his blue baseball tee over his head and looked around for the towel he used to dry his hair. He saw it on the corner on the bed and grabbed it to dry out what he could. The rest would have to air dry.

Keith turned around to see Lance finally dressed and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This boy was gonna be the death of him one of these days.

"You ready to go yet? Allura's probably getting cranky right about now, and I do not want to be on the end of that."

Lance was putting on his jacket as Keith spoke. "Yeah, let me just grab something real quick." He plopped down on the bed and reached his hand under the pillow. After feeling around for it, he quickly snatched it and stood back up.

Keith, waiting at the door and already knowing what Lance had in his hand, feigned innocent and asked, "What'd you need to get?"

Lance walked up beside Keith and pressed the button to open the door. "Oh it's nothing. Just a good luck charm." He slid the 'good luck charm' into his jacket pocket and walked out.

He looked back at Keith. "You coming? Cause I am not facing the wrath of Allura alone."

Keith stared back at Lance before smirking and walking out of the room and towards the mouth of the red lion. "Whatever you say sleeping beauty, but we both know Allura's only gonna be mad at you, I'm only the messenger boy."

Lance stood there as Keith moved passed him. It didn't register in his mind what the black paladin had said until he turned the corner. Not wasting anymore time, Lance jogged to catch up, "Hey, mullet, wait up!"

**We started off the story with a little Lance and Keith interaction. (Yay!) Just a little background as to where in the timeline this story takes place, it's been a while since they've defeated Lotor quintessence field. They've decided to head for Earth, but they're making slow progress. Next chapter will elaborate more on the situation. **

**Until next time, this is WishingDayDreams signing out.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Chapter 2 is here! I'm sorry the update schedule seems a bit weird right now, but I promise I'll get it together eventually. My plan is to try and update at least once every week, so look forward to it. I also wanna give a shoutout to my first reviewer, purebread1127! Thank you for reading my story and for your critique, I'll take up your advice. If you guys have any other suggestions for me, please do not hesitate to tell me!**

"By the ancients! Where the quiznack are those two?!"

"Language, Princess," reprimanded Coran as the Altean princess continued to pace around the meeting space inside the black lion.

"Don't worry, Allura. I'm sure Lance and Keith are on their way here right now," said Shiro from behind her. Although Shiro was reassuring her verbally, internally he was also getting a little worried. If those two don't make it here in the next dobosh, Allura might actually start pulling hair out of her scalp.

Pidge let out a little snort from where she was tinkering with some new gadget on the floor, "Yeah, if they're not too busy making goo goo eyes at each other behind the other's back."

Just as Shiro was about to chide Pidge for her comment, the double doors slid open to reveal the aforementioned paladins. "See? There they are. And just in the nick of time too." Shiro let out breath of relief. Thank god they got here when they did. He didn't know if he could've held back Allura if it came down to it.

Keith entered the room first and walked to stand next to his mom and Kosmo. "Sorry for the hold up. Mr. Beauty Queen here had to get ready. He wasn't even awake 'til I got there."

"Hey! I'll have you know I didn't even tone and moisturize this morning. Being in space for this long isn't good for my beautiful skin." Lance said as he rubbed his face.

"Maybe I'm doing you a favor. You should cut the routine completely. It'll save time and it's not like it's doing you any favors," Keith smirked, leaning against the wall. Just as Lance was about to retort, a voice interrupted him.

"Ok, that's enough. As much as I love your earthly facial routines, Lance, now isn't the time. You, me, Romelle, and Pidge can have another one of those 'spa nights' of yours soon, but can we please focus on the subject at hand please?" pleaded Allura.

"Why, of course. Anything for you, Princess," said Lance with a wink and a slight bow. She rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, Lance. Now for the matter at hand."

Allura switched to her serious tone almost immediently. "Currently, we are somewhere within the Clinquant Galaxy. We are still a ways off from Earth and with our present rate of travel, we might not make it there for phoebs. Without a teleduv we are not able to wormhole either, so I propose that our next objective should be to find a planet that we could rest on and gather supply and information. We haven't been able to get into contact with anyone in the coalition, the rebel group, or the Blade ever since the battle with Lotor. I feel it would be best to rest and come up with another course of action."

"Agreed, Princess. I think it's about time to get off this rock and get going," said Shiro. Everyone in the room nodded and said words of agreement.

"Finally. It's about time we found a planet with actual people. As much as I love you guys, I need some time talking to others," Lance said.

Hunk nodded and added, "Yeah, it has been getting kinda boring around here. Plus we're running a bit low on food supply so a stock up is definitely needed right now."

Allura smiled, "Perfect. It sounds like we are all in agreement then. Coran, can you use the black lion's navigation map to check for any habitable planets nearby? Preferably one we could possibly communicate with and learn information from."

"Already on it, Princess."

Coran had already begun searching through the map. His eyes were looking around the map, quickly reading the small profiles that came up with every planet he zoomed upon.

"Right. Krolia, while Coran is looking for that, are there any Blade or Galran bases around here that you know of?" Allura asked.

Krolia put a hand on her chin and watched the map intensely as Coran quickly scrolled through it. After a moment she shook her head and answered, "No, I don't think so. Last I knew of, Zarkon's forces hadn't made to this part of the universe yet. And now that Zarkon is dead and we can assume Lotor isn't coming back, I doubt they would've traveled out this far. The Galran Empire is probably still in shambles trying to find someone to lead them and the higher ups are most likely too busy fighting with each other than getting anything done. So I believe this area should be safe from Galran invasion. At least one anytime soon."

"Thank you, Krolia. Well, that creates a better opportunity for us to expand the coalition. We can explain the situation to them and we could have a stronghold of the planets here before the Galra even know about it."

Before Allura could say anymore, an alarm went off in the black lion. Keith quickly ran to his console and pulled up the report behind the sudden warning. Keith read the message and spun around to face the others in the room.

"You may have spoken a bit too soon, Allura. We just picked up a distress signal from somewhere nearby. And from the looks of it, we might be too late. The signal was sent out vargas ago."

The paladins all looked at each other before Lance spoke up. "Well, then why are we still standing here? We're the paladins of Voltron, even if there's the slightest chance we could help people, we go."

Shiro smiled proudly at Lance, "He's right, everyone get to your designated lions and into your suits. Pidge, could you track down where the signal came from?"

Pidge went up to one of the screens and pulled up a keyboard before quickly typing. "Yeah, let me just send this over to the green lion first. She'll have the necessary tech to help me trace this down to the exact computer it came from in a blink of an eye."

One by one the lions of Voltron powered up. "Pidge, you got a coordinate?", asked Keith now in the cockpit of the black lion with Krolia, Shiro and Kosmo behind him.

"Just a sec — Got it! Sending it to all lions now, just in case we get separated."

"Ok guys, let's go." And with that Keith pulled the black lion into flight, soon followed by the other lions.

"Pidge, you got an ETA for us?"

"Putting into account how low on power the lions are and the fact that we can't form Voltron until we get more, probably about half a varga."

Keith nodded, "Ok, Coran can you find anything about this planet we're heading to?"

"Hmm, it looks like we are heading towards a planet named Elysia." An image popped up on each paladin's screen that caused them all to gasp.

"That looks like…" started out Hunk.

"Home." Lance stared at the picture that had appeared on his screen.

It was a beautiful planet that looked very similar to the blue world that the paladins came from. It had vast blue oceans and green lands. The only difference other than the land formations, were the gigantic crystal rings that circled the planet. There were three rings in total and they moved slowly around each other.

"Home? I thought you paladins were from Earth? We are lightyears away from even being close to your solar system," said Coran quirking up an eyebrow.

"No, sorry Coran. It's just this planet looks a lot like Earth, at first glance… Well, it was just surprising how close it is," replied Lance as he continued to stare longingly at his screen.

"Well, I'm sure if Earth looks as much like Elysia as you say it does, it's a beautiful planet," Allura said softly.

"And all the more reason we have to need to save it. Pidge, is there anyway for you to find out what's going on over there? Maybe figure out what the distress signal said?" questioned Keith.

"Yea, I've been trying to get it on the right frequency, but it looks like there was a video of some kind that came with the distress signal. Just give me a minute and I'll stream it on the lions."

"Thanks, Pidge. The more we know about the situation, the more prepared we can be. And it's probably best if we knew who we're up against."

Krolia stared at the map on the screen of the black lion. "I don't understand. The Galra should be tearing each other apart around now. How could they have organized themselves in such a manner that they got all the way to this part of the universe in such a short time frame? For them to have gotten this far, it should have taken them decaphoebs."

Keith turned around in his seat, "Hey, it's fine. There's no way you could've known, that any of us could've known. And we're not sure if it's even the Galra responsible for the distress signal. You're doing all you can, and all the information you have on the Galra has helped us so many times already. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Krolia's eyes looked at the boy in front of her lovingly. No, not a boy anymore, a man. The son she had to leave behind was all grown up already. He was a great leader, the black paladin of Voltron nonetheless, and just overall an amazing person. Sure, he loses his temper from time to time, but he had started to grow out of it during their time in the quantum abyss and the time they spent together there were some of the fondest moments she can remember. "Thanks, Keith. I'm proud of you."

Keith's eyes widened just the slightest bit and a small blush formed on his cheeks. He turned back around in his chair. "No problem."

Shiro watched this interaction with soft eyes. The little kid he knew from his garrison days really had grown up. He had felt kinda bad thrusting the role of the black paladin on Keith so suddenly, but it proved to be worth it. Voltron could've asked for a better leader.

The comms suddenly crackled to life. "Ok, I'm getting something here. Streaming to all lions now."

A new tab popped up on all the lions and at first it was a screen of just static, but slowly a figure appeared.

"This — we need — being attacked — all rebel forces — back up immediently!"

"Um, I don't know about you guys, but I really don't speak static all that well," said Hunk through the comms.

"Hold on, I'm still adjusting the frequency. Both the image and the sound should clear up soon."

Just as she finished the voice started to sound clearer and more understandable. "Repeat, this is — all the help we can — running low on man power — hailing back up immediently!"

Coran put a hand on his chin and furrowed his eyebrows. He let out a breath through his nose and stared at the screen even harder. Allura, sensing her father's advisor's concentration behind her, asked, "Coran, is something wrong?"

Coran shook his head and answered, " No, it's just, I feel like I've heard this voice before somewhere. I just can't quite put my finger on it."

The static began to clear up and on the screen the figure started to take shape. It was obviously a male, and what surprised the paladins was that they seemed human. The image cleared up a bit more and a rebel uniform came into view. The person was hunched over a console and repeating the same message over again.

"Repeat, this is Commander Matthew Holt of the Rebel Force. We need all the help we can get on the planet of Elysia in the Clinquant Galaxy of the Kalver Quadrant. The Galra have attacked the planet and we are running low on man power. I'm calling in any available assistance and all rebel forces nearby. We are hailing back up immediently!"

And with that the screen went back to static and then shut off. Pidge stared at the screen in front of her. Her brother who she thought she would be able to see for at least another few months had been right there. He was so close. Why was he so close?! "—idge! Pidge! Hey, snap out of it!" Lance's voice cut through the comms.

"He — but Matt — he was right there — he should've met up with Dad and gone to Earth. Why is he here?"

"I don't know Pidgeon. But I need you to focus right now. I understand you're worried about Matt, we all are, but we can't have you going into battle like this. You won't be able to help Matt if you end up getting hurt. Take a deep breath, you're okay, Matt's okay."

Pidge took in a shaky breath and exhaled loudly. She cleared her mind and focused back to the task at hand.

"You're right. Thanks Lance. I won't be able to tear him a new one if I lose focus now."

Lance smirked, "No problemo, anything for my favorite little gremlin."

Pidge also let out a small smirk as she started to fire up the boosters.

"Now let's go kick some Galra ass!"

**Whew! Another chapter in the books. We're getting closer to the action. This chapter was more of an expository chapter, with a bit of background on everything happening. I really tried to make everyone stay in character, if you guys have any tips on how to, I'd love to know! **

**Until next time, this is WishingDayDreams signing off.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Who's ready for chapter 3? I think it's been around a week since I last updated, so technically I'm still somewhat on schedule. I really do promise I'll get a solid update schedule down, but I'm experimenting with it and all. Anywho let's get on with the story.**

As if sensing their paladins' determination, the lions burst with sudden energy. With their newfound power, each lion roared to life and blasted through the darkness of space. While the lions were nowhere as fast as they were if they had transformed into Voltron, the were traveling at a significantly faster speed.

"Woohoo! Now this is what I'm talking about. How much longer at this speed, Pidgey?" Asked Lance scooting forward in his chair.

Pidge tapped a few buttons on her screen and waited for a second as the green lion estimated. "Looks like we'll be getting there sooner than expected. 5 more minutes tops."

Shiro leaned forward from his position behind Keith's seat. "Ok paladins be on defensive maneuvers, we don't know the exact situation yet. All we know is that it was Matt calling for backup to defend the planet. Once we get there Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, you three will immediately assist in protecting the civilians and the surrounding area. Try to get the fight as far away from people as possible. The black and blue lions will head to their castle and try to get in contact with whoever's in charge. We'll give you any information we learn along with dropping off Krolia, Coran, and Romelle."

"Sorry to interrupt Shiro, but I believe we have arrived," came Allura's voice through the comms.

Coming into view was the planet they were called to protect. Elysia was even more beautiful in person than it was on screen.

"Whoa, it really does kinda look like Earth. I mean the giant turning rings are new but like…" Hunk trailed off unable to find the right words to describe what he was feeling.

"I know how you feel, man. Damn, homesickness just hit me hard." Lance leaned back, taking in the entirety of the planet.

The lions were moving more slowly now that they were so close to the planet. Lance squinted at the planet as they moved closer. "Hey guys, I may be wrong, but those don't look like the regular Galra ships."

The paladins all drew their attention to the battle cruisers. The new ships kept the gray and purple color palette that the Galra was known for, but now the ships were bigger, had more canons, and overall just looked more deadly.

The ships were firing purple lasers at the planet, more specifically, at the large castle that stood in the center of one of the land formations. The castle, fortunately, seemed to have a particle barrier up and was holding its own, shooting blasts of blue back at the cruisers. However, the lands surrounding the castle was not as fortunate. Buildings that were hit exploded into fiery debris and covered the streets.

"Ok guys, remember the plan. You three get as close the the ground as possible and cover the citizens while they head for cover. As soon as it looks like everybody is safe, head back up for the cruisers and divert their attention onto you and not the buildings. Allura, Keith, send a signal for the castle and request for landing. Tell them the paladins of Voltron are here."

"Yes sir!"

The lions zoomed pass the Galra battleships and assumed their positions. The Red, Yellow, and Green lions all separated to different parts of the area surrounding the castle and started blocking any lasers that could further damage the buildings or the people. The Black and Blue lions weaved their way through the lasers and headed for the castle.

Keith tapped the broadcasting feature in his lion. "This is the paladin of the black lion of Voltron hailing Elysia. We have received your distress signal and have arrived to assist. Three of the paladins are already protecting citizens in the area surrounding the castle. We are requesting permission for the Black and Blue lions to enter the particle barrier and land near the castle to be further briefed on the situation."

The comms system stayed silent for a second before crackling to life. "This is the central command station of the Astria Palace. We have received your request and are waiting on confirmation from his majesty." The voice shut off before a new voice spoke up. "Paladins of Voltron, this is Prince Koray of Elysia. Thank you for answering our distress signal and coming here. We're opening a panel of the barrier in the dicax sector, please enter from there and I'll meet you down at the landing bay."

The lions closed on the barrier and circled around to the opening. As soon as they entered the barrier closed behind them, just in time to block a beam fired at the lions. "Eep! That was way too close for comfort. Can we land yet?" yelped Romelle as she gripped onto Allura's seat.

"Don't worry, Romelle. We're landing right now. You and Coran can head up to their central command center and assist us from down here. Keith and I will head out and help the others as soon as we talk to the Prince."

The lions flew towards the landing bay behind the castle and landed inside when the bay doors opened up. All six passengers of the lions exited and was greeted by a strange ray of light. "What was that?" asked Krolia as her hand hovered above her blade. They all squinted at the bight light, trying to find its source.

The light shut off suddenly and a door opened up. "I apologize for that, but we have to be sure that you weren't enemies in disguise. The scan was just protocol, so please forgive us," came a voice coming from the door.

As soon as Keith's eyes adjusted from the bright light, he could slowly make out the figure in front of them. To say he was speechless was an understatement.

The person standing before them was the basic definition of a prince. He was tall and very well built. He had soft, wavy dark purple hair that came down to his chin on one side and was cut close to his head on the other side. Currently he was in what looked like battle armor, completed with a cape bellowing to his heels. Underneath his dark hair was a golden band that wrapped around his head with a crystal amulet on his forehead.

One thing that really struck Keith was how human-like he was. Other than his pointed ears and strangely colored hair, he could've passed off as one.

The Prince stepped forward and held out a hand. Keith snapped out of his thoughts and followed suit. They shook hands as they introduced themselves to each other.

"Welcome to Elysia. I'm the crown prince, Koray. I do wish we could have met under better conditions."

Keith nodded, "Me, too. I'm Keith, paladin of the black lion." He turned to introduce the others. "This is Shiro, the former black paladin, Allura, princess of Altea, Krolia, a member of the Blade of Marmora, Coran and Romelle.

The other members of Team Voltron nodded, or waved in Romelle's case, at the prince. Keith turned back to Koray. "I'm sorry if it seems rude, but can we cut to the chase? My friends are out there already and Allura and I need to be out there as soon as we're briefed."

Koray nodded and motioned for them to follow him. "Of course, I understand. Come this way, I'll take you up to central command. There's someone there that could probably explain better than I can."

The group followed the prince out of the landing bay. They walked down a long corridor before coming to another door. The door slid open as soon as the prince tapped a pad to the side of the door. He stepped off to the side, "Please, guests first."

Keith hesitantly walked in and looked around. The room was no bigger than the cockpit of the black lion and the walls looked to be made of a transparent crystal of some sort. When everyone had entered the small room, Prince Koray stepped inside and the doors closed behind him.

He took two fingers and slid them upwards on the door. As his fingers touched the door, strange markings appeared like it was a screen. He moved his fingers until the reached a certain marking. Keith could only assume that these markings were numbers or letters.

Koray took his fingers off the door and placed his hand, palm faced down, on a small console next to the door. The same light that had scanned them earlier shone underneath his hand. Once Koray had taken his hand off, the room started to move.

It took Keith a moment to realize what kind of room they were in. An elevator.

The elevator moved upwards through the floors of the castle. Through the transparent walls the group could see parts of the castle. The castle was very beautiful and there were people rushing around on every floor. It seemed that the prince's hair color wasn't abnormal in the least. Keith could see almost every color he could think of.

The elevator slowed down and came to a full stop in the middle of a room full of computers and giant holographic monitors. People were shouting orders through their headsets or microphones and the screens showed bits and pieces of what was going on outside the barrier.

When the doors slid open the prince walked out to the back of the room and up a small flight of stairs in the corner. The others followed and saw that the area was an outlook of sorts. It over looked the command center and had its own set of computers and monitors.

Koray walked up to the counter of buttons and pressed a green one. "Eridani, get Steele up here immediently. I need her to brief the paladins on the situation while I get Serpentarius Squad ready for take off."

It took a moment for a voice to respond back to the prince, "Um, your highness, I'm sorry to inform you that the Lady Advisor has already departed for battle. She took her pod and headed off to the outskirts of the capital. She said that the enemy had landed over there and that someone needed to be over there with the Vega battalion."

"She did WHAT?!" the prince shouted back into the comms system. "I'm sorry, your highness, I thought she had informed you before she left. She said it was urgent and that the Vega battalion needed support. And because the fighting is on the ground she also said not to worry about her crashing the pod."

"I'm not worried about her crashing the damned pod, I told her to stay here and strategize our next move, not go off to fight in an area with no cover. If the cruisers fire a blast over there, the barrier won't be able to protect them. Get her on a line, I need to speak with her. Now!"

"Yes, sir! Right away!"

Koray turned away from the counter and put a hand on his face and massaged his head. He looked up at the paladins and their friends and sighed, "I apologize, but it seems like I'll be the one to fill you in on the situation. My advisor can be impulsive when it comes to these sorts of things. I just wished—."

He was cut off by a beeping coming from one of the computers. Koray pressed the blinking button, "Speak."

The same voice from earlier spoke, "Your Highness, I have Advisor Steele on the line. Should I switch her over?"

"Please do." The prince responded.

There was a bit of static before a female voice started speaking, "Hey, Koray! Look, I already know what you're gonna say, so can we skip to the part where you let me off the hook and you don't have to waste your much needed time yelling at me? Please?"

"What in Astria's crown were you thinking running off like that?! You were supposed to stay here and help the coordination team!" Koray scolded.

"What other choice did I have?! The Galra sent down troops and there were still civilians out here. Vega wasn't ready for such a large army. I'm your advisor and strategist, I did what I felt was the best corse of action. There are already many capable coordinators up there, they'll do fine without me." The sounds of lasers and blasters could be heard in the background. There was an especially large explosion and the female muttered a curse under her breath.

"Koray, you can yell at me all you want later, but it's getting kinda bad out here, I gotta get back out there with the others. If there are any free squadrons, send them over. We could use the air support. The civilians are almost all underground, there are only a few left then we'll do a final sweep. Steele, out!"

"Hey, wait! Don't just—." The call got cut off before he could protest any further. Koray hung his head and took in a deep breath. He exhaled and turned back around.

"Looks like we should hurry this up," the prince said as he moved to pull something up on the large hologram in the center of the wall. "I'll be giving you a brief run down about what's going on. Sorry, but we're gonna have to make this a really short summary. Usually it's my advisor doing this, but as you can see she's currently caught up in something."

A hologram of Elysia showed up on the screen with blue and red arrows in place of the Elysian and Galran troops. The particle barrier was also on the screen, along with the castle. Koray faced the group standing in his office.

"At the moment, the Galra are attacking in hopes of stealing a crystal from us. Please note that this crystal is of the upmost importance. Without it, Elysia and everyone living here will die off. It is what keeps this planet alive. The Galra want to steal it for its quintessence absorbing abilities, and along with it, probably the quintessence of everyone and everything on this planet."

With a tap of a button the image zoomed into a part of the city. There were Galran and Elysian soldiers firing at each other. Those who were closer were going at it either in hand to hand combat or with weapons.

"According to my advisor, it seems that the Galra have sent troops to try and invade a weak point in the barrier. There is an area where we keep it partially open for any citizen who wasn't within the proximity of the barrier when it went up. Usually it would have closed by now, but from the looks of it, the Galra landing in the area prevented some of my people from making it all the way in."

Another tap pulled up a map of the area in question. A route was highlighted in blue leading from one of the buildings to inside the barrier.

"For safety precautions, we have closed the barrier. Now the only way inside is through an old underground passageway. Vega is out there holding back the Galra and protecting the citizens, but they could use some help. Could your paladins help with that?" Koray directed the question at Keith.

Keith gave a curt nod, "We'll send Hunk and Pidge over. Hunk can provide cover while Pidge hacks into the sentries. With half of their forces down, we'll have a better chance at beating them. Meanwhile, I'm assuming you'll also need help pushing back the cruisers, so Allura, Lance, and I will head up in our lions and take out as many cruisers as we can."

Keith turned to the others. "Coran and Romelle, you two can stay here in central command and provide any assistance you can. Krolia, stay with the prince and head on out to the outskirts with him to help with the team from the ground." He at looked each of them as he gave his commands. "And Shiro."

The former black paladin placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "And I can stay here and be in charge of surveillance. You and Allura better hurry up. I'll set up a comms system to all the lions from here and keep you guys informed of what's going on. Now go."

"Mhm. Let's go Allura." With that they headed towards the stairs. "Keith!" At the sound of his mentor's voice, Keith looked over his shoulder. Shiro looked him in the eyes and smiled, "Keep up the good work, kiddo."

Keith raised his hand to his head in a salute and continued down the stairs.

"Yes, sir!"

**And we have officially met one of our first new characters, Koray! He'll play a part in a good portion of this story, so expect him to be around for a while. The paladins are on Elysia now and the fight's just right around the corner. And prepare to meet new characters within the next few chapter too!**

**Until next time, this is WishingDayDreams signing off.**


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